Factory 1960 with 3 2 barrels???

[JohnG]

On Ebay at the link

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1960-FORD-THUNDERBIRD-SPECIAL-ORDER-HI-PERFORMANCE_W0QQitemZ320149664747QQihZ011QQcategoryZ6240QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

is a car claimed to have a factory high performance cam and three two barrel carbs. Does anyone know if Ford provided such mods, or is this a little creative marketing? I know some of the two seater TBirds had enhancements including superchargers.

John
1958 with one 4 barrel

[Alexander]

I think there was a contemporary over-the counter Ford kit for 3 two-venturis for the 430, but I do not think there was one for the FE blocks until 1962. That manifold on that car looks aluminum. I doubt it was put on when the car was new.

[byersmtrco]

Not in 1960 !! The 62-63 Roadster (& a few HT's) had the "M" motor. Basically a 390 with a mild cam and the 3-2bbl Holley's.
Most were removed under warr for driveability reasons. It worked ok on the 406 pwr'd Galaxies, but too too much for the 390.
The 430 pwr'd Merc Merauder (spl/check please) in 58 had a 3-2 set up, but very few kept it for the same reason.

I had the set up on my Dodge Charger (for about 3 weeks) They called it the 440 Six-Pac. It just blubbered on itself.
Looked bada$$ !!!

At some point I want(need) a 430 pwr'd Bird. (No replacement for displacement I always say) The 390 goes pretty good . . .
But I just gotta have one with that BIG MOTOR.

Although . . . a 428 CJ and a C6 . . .

[dgs]

To be fair to the guy, he does list it as an 'over the counter' 'factory' 3x2 set up. I think he's meaning Ford manufactured, but not factory installed.

Perhaps someone bought the '62-'63 setup once available and added it to their Squarebird? Or perhaps someone did it more recently to create something 'rare'.

[dgs]

Did anyone else notice that the wipers were missing?

Come to think of it, this could be a way to get some more $$ out of a no option Squarebird. Add a Ford 3x2 setup, remove the wipers and add big wheels & tires with dog dishes and call it rare!

If it is a Ford manifold, shouldn't there be casting dates on it? Assuming one could get access to them, they would show if it's possible that this manifold was added to the car near it's build date.

[6TB1RD]

She sure is pretty

She sure is pretty!!

[Guest]

Not in 1960 !! The 62-63 Roadster (& a few HT's) had the "M" motor. Basically a 390 with a mild cam and the 3-2bbl Holley's.
Most were removed under warr for driveability reasons. It worked ok on the 406 pwr'd Galaxies, but too too much for the 390.
The 430 pwr'd Merc Merauder (spl/check please) in 58 had a 3-2 set up, but very few kept it for the same reason.

I had the set up on my Dodge Charger (for about 3 weeks) They called it the 440 Six-Pac. It just blubbered on itself.
Looked bada$$ !!!

At some point I want(need) a 430 pwr'd Bird. (No replacement for displacement I always say) The 390 goes pretty good . . .
But I just gotta have one with that BIG MOTOR.

Although . . . a 428 CJ and a C6 . . .

Roger that 428CJ

[Guest]

Did anyone else notice that the wipers were missing?

Come to think of it, this could be a way to get some more $$ out of a no option Squarebird. Add a Ford 3x2 setup, remove the wipers and add big wheels & tires with dog dishes and call it rare!

If it is a Ford manifold, shouldn't there be casting dates on it? Assuming one could get access to them, they would show if it's possible that this manifold was added to the car near it's build date.

I have a 3x2 setup on my workbench. As a fall project I plan on rebuilding the carbs and cleaning up the manifold. The #'s on the manifold and carbs I believe reflect a 1962 or 62 1/5 tbird. I can verify tonight, Haven't looked at that in about 8 months or so.

Hope this helps to your question.

[byersmtrco]

Ha ha ha. I've seen that one on ebay. How funny. Campbell is 5 min from here. I'm pretty sure I recognize the background.
I should go chk it out.
3 2's on a 60 Bird . . . Too good.
"Yesserie . . . Pass anythin' on the road . . . 'cept a gas station"

[dgs]

I have a 3x2 setup on my workbench. As a fall project I plan on rebuilding the carbs and cleaning up the manifold. The #'s on the manifold and carbs I believe reflect a 1962 or 62 1/5 tbird. I can verify tonight, Haven't looked at that in about 8 months or so.

Hope this helps to your question.

I was thinking more that one could verify the date on that particular one on ebay. The consensus is that this wasn't available in 1960, but a check on the casting date would prove it.

[Hawkrod]

The setup shown on that car is not a Tbird unit, it is a 61-64 fullsize car unit. Ford did market performance parts specifically for the 1958-1960 product line in 1961. These were not the same parts as were used on the 61-64 Fords and are pretty rare. I have only seen one 3-2 but I have seen plenty of the the 4V intakes for 58-60 and they pop up from time to time on eBay. The 58-60 parts look odd because they have a flat surface to mount the carb where the 61-64 was angled except for the Tbird. The 58-60 parts are easy to identify due to this. Hawkrod

[byersmtrco]

Nope, never on a 60.
As far as it goes, aside from looking cool, you wouldn't want 3-2's. Too many driveability problems. Too hard if not impossible to tune. Plus they're Holley 2 bbl's (YUK!!!). . . And there's three of em. Tripple your fun.
Blubber blubber blubber.

[JohnG]

In William Wonder's book, Thuderbird Restoration Guide, in the area of 62-3 cars there is a section on "M Series" cars, a high performance series of which a limited number were made (the book is confusing about the actual number)

The three 2 barrel carbs were a key component of these cars. Wonder goes on to say that Ford claimed to have produced perhaps 15,000 and sold them through their parts and services departments. He also says that a nicely restored and rebuilt version might fetch $1200 to $1800 at meets (note: the book was published in 1997).

So if any fraction of these at all exist today, it would be quite reasonable to find one and bolt it on your Squarebird, as our Ebayer likely did (the auction finished with no bids I think).

John

[Hawkrod]

The sad truth is they are expensive but they would work well on a square bird if you use a Tbird unit but that car has a Galaxie unit and the carbs sit at an odd angle which can cause drivability issues. The tri-power is a sweet thing and is so easy to set up and use. Despite what some people think they are not difficult to setup and they run great. Fortunately Ford did their homework and designed them for the applications so they actually perform like a dream. Hawkrod